Why isn’t Debbie Dingle returning to Emmerdale and why did Charley Webb leave? – The truth is revealed

There was a Debbie Dingle update on Emmerdale on Thursday that left her family reeling, with actress Charley Webb’s future return seemingly ruled out.

Warning, this episode contains spoilers from Thursday’s episode available on ITVX which airs on Thursday night on ITV1. Sarah Sugden shared some upsetting news about her mother amid her cancer fears.

Sarah has yet to open up to anyone about her current health scare, while next week spoilers have confirmed she’s diagnosed with cervical cancer. It seems Sarah may have wanted to confide in her mother Debbie about her concerns and instead she learned some shocking news that left her in tears.

She rushed to tell her gran, Debbie’s mother Charity Dingle, claiming her mum was “gone”. It’s then she explained some huge news about Debbie that ruled out a future, possibly forever for both Debbie and actress Charley.

Sarah confirmed she’d been told by Debbie that she had married her mystery partner Chris, years after moving to Scotland away from the village. Debbie had left for good in 2019, before making a short comeback to the show between 2020 and 2021, soon leaving again.

Sarah Sugden’s mother Debbie Dingle dropped some huge news on Emmerdale(Image: ITV)

She was a no-show for her grandfather Zak Dingle’s funeral last year in a move that stunned viewers, convinced Debbie should have been there. But now there’s no sign of a return in sight, even with Sarah’s diagnosis.

Charity was horrified to find out that she had married Chris in secret, not telling anyone and not inviting her family. Then came the bigger bombshell, that Debbie and Chris and Debbie’s son Jack had emigrated to Australia for a new life out there.

The permanent move was not discussed or even revealed to anyone, and Debbie made the huge move without even bothering to tell her daughter Sarah. Sarah found this all out over the phone and was heartbroken, feeling pushed out and unwanted by her mum.

At a time where she needs support, which had sparked return theories by fans, it seems Debbie’s comeback has been completely ruled out. Bosses likely needed a way to explain why Debbie wouldn’t be there for her poorly daughter, perhaps after actress Charley’s previous decision not to return – while it’s not known if she was approached more recently.

This definitely makes the exit seem final, ruling out Debbie’s comeback and Charley’s. Perhaps bosses didn’t want to recast the role but needed a way to cover a permanent exit without k.i.l.l.i.n.g her off.

Charley had addressed her exit not long after her final scenes, confirming her departure but not wanting a fuss to be made over it. Her stint in 2020 was only ever meant to be temporary.

In 2023 she told whattowatch.com: “It felt like the right time for me personally to make that jump from Emmerdale and I don’t have any regrets about it. I’m ambitious to push myself and it’s just about choosing the right projects from now on. It’s hard to say no to work, but I trust my agent and I trust the process. Hopefully, I’ve made some good choices so far.”

Prior to this, she shared on social media: “This is always my most asked question but I’ve never answered it before because I’ve never wanted to make a big deal of it. I left to have Ace [two] years ago.

“I went back at the end of last year for 10 weeks to complete a storyline. So, I guess officially it’s been a year. I never felt the need to announce it which is why we didn’t.”